Seminar helps us spring into action!

AS one of the UK’s leading agri-finance lenders, it’s vital for Rural Asset Finance to keep up to date on all the latest farming developments – so we were delighted to attend the recent Andersons Spring Seminar.

The event, one of 12 around the UK hosted by farming business management consultants The Andersons Centre, highlighted the latest news, trends and research in the sector. Its review of the entire farming industry and its prospects covered policy changes, new legislation, the economic outlook, market prospects and profitability, and how all these impact the future structure of UK farming and farm businesses.

“It was an excellent event,” says our sales director Ben Wood, who attended the seminar at Newmarket racecourse with Rural Asset Finance head of legal and compliance Andrew Carrier. “I
feel it is paramount for anyone working in the agricultural profession to stay tuned in and current with the constantly moving economic climate.

“It’s the only way we can provide the correct products and information to our client base, which in turn gives them the correct tools to make informed decisions. It also enables us to better understand the challenges our customers are facing day to day.”

Andrew, left, says the event left him encouraged for the future of UK farming. “I came away with a sense that the outlook remains challenging but positive,” he says, “with enormous opportunities to adapt and succeed in our drive for sustainability and to combat climate change.”

The three-hour seminar was also an excellent chance to chat informally to farmers themselves about their businesses and understand the issues concerning them. “One of our key values at Rural Asset Finance is building proper, strong relationships with our customers,” says Ben, “and that means understanding what’s specifically, individually important to them. We are all from farming backgrounds ourselves, with real-life day-to-day experience of how challenging it can be, but we feel it’s really important, and responsible, to attend events like Andersons Spring Seminars to keep our knowledge as up to date as possible. That helps us to help and understand our own customers, who are always our priority.”